BRRIING!

"Doctor, the phone's ringing again." Amy rolled her eyes.

"If it's Marilyn, tell her I'll call her back," he yelled.

Amy rolled her eyes and picked it up. "Hello."

"This is Luke Smith, I need to talk to the Doctor." It was a boy's voice, slightly trembling.

"Doctor, it's someone named Luke Smith."

The Doctor darted down the stairs and grabbed the phone from her. "Right-o, Lukey boy, what seems to be the problem?" As he listened, his face wiped away emotions. "Oh, Luke, I'll be right there. What's that….Maria Jackson? Yes, I can find her. No, I won't say anything." His voice pitched higher with indignation. "No, I won't be late. Not this time." He set down the phone.

"Right then, brief stop in America, and then Ealing."

"Ealing?" Rory frowned. "What's in Ealing?"

The Doctor turned away and pulled a lever.

Maria looked up from a textbook. She was just imagining things—Luke had described the sound of the TARDIS so many times she heard it in her dreams.

There was a blue box outside her window. She stared as a man in a bowtie stepped out and wrapped on her window. "Maria Jackson?" The man mouthed theatrically.

She pushed the window open. "Doctor?"

"That's me. Would you care to take a ride?"

"Really? Can my dad come?"

The Doctor straightened his bow tie. "Well, I tend to be a bit rubbish with families, but if you want…"

"Great!" Maria ran out of the room, returning a few minutes later with Alan. "Just a moment, let me lock up."

A few minutes later, Maria and Alan were standing outside the TARDIS. The Doctor grinned and opened the door. "What do you think?"

Alan walked in, walked back out, and then back in. "It is…it's—"

"Bigger on the inside," Amy chimed in.

"Luke told me," Maria commented. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Maria, a friend of Sarah Jane Smith's."

"Sarah Jane?" Rory asked.

The Doctor shut the door firmly. "Sarah Jane used to travel with me. Several faces ago. And we are not repeating Deffrey Vale. Maria, Maria's father, this is Amy and Rory Pond."

"I am not Mr. Pond," Rory protested.

Amy kissed him on the lips, which shut him up for the time being.

"This is great, but why did you come now?" Maria asked. "The last few times you showed up, it involved disasters. At least that's what Luke tells me."

The Doctor pulled a few levers and knobs, pretending that flying the TARDIS required his full attention. "It was Luke's idea."

Alan walked around the walls, staring at the knobs and switches. "Amazing. How long is this trip going to take?"

"It's a time machine." The Doctor laughed. "Don't tell me you have something to get back for tomorrow?"

"No…just wondering." Maria said. Suddenly she turned and looked at him. "Something is wrong."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't know how Luke contacted you, but he wouldn't for something minor. Not if Sarah Jane could handle it. So it has to be huge."

Alan walked over to them. "Maria—"

"No, Dad, listen. Something's wrong. I know it."

Amy and Rory exchanged glances.

Maria glanced at them. "Do you know what's going on?"

The Doctor cut in. "If you tell them anything, I will buy three fezzes and make you each wear one."

"A fez," Alan laughed. "Calm down, Maria. It can't be that bad."